Heritage outlook hampers Parramatta development

A technical report has classified most of Parramatta’s central business district as “sensitive” and “highly sensitive” to the outlook of Old Government House, Australia’s oldest surviving public building.
Photo: Andrew Meares

by
Samantha Hutchinson

The development of Parramatta as Sydney’s second CBD could be threatened by federal government guidelines aiming to protect the outlook of the world heritage-listed Old Government House.

A $145 million tower in the heart of Parramatta’s burgeoning central ­business district is facing resistance because of its “visual prominence" in relation to the convict-era building.

Documents obtained by The Australian Financial Review show the government has requested feedback from developer
Crown
on how it could lessen the “visual impact" of its “V by Crown" mixed-use tower in Macquarie Street.

The request for information follows the release in April of a technical report, from the federal Environment Department, which classified areas within 1.5 kilometres of the historic site as “sensitive" or “highly sensitive" to its outlook.

The areas captured most of the Parramatta CBD.

It’s a decision that has sparked ­consternation among local councillors and interest groups, coming at a time when the city is trying to attract investment, and a developer to build Sydney’s tallest residential tower. Lord Mayor
John Chedid
told The ­Australian Financial Review: “We respect the heritage significance of Parramatta but we’ve got to have development and help the city progress, growth needs to occur. No one wants to see the city held back,"

The departmental report’s authors say the guidelines will protect the leafy outlook of Old Government House, and the “master and commander" ­relationship the two-storey building enjoys over the surrounding suburb.

Developments within “sensitive" and “highly sensitive" zones should not “dominate" the landscape setting of Old Government House and Domain or detract from the mostly “green" outlook north, the report says.

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Parramatta’s CBD is home to the headquarters for the New South Wales Police Force, the Department of Attorney General and Justice, the Federal Magistrates Court and the Sydney Water Corporation, in addition to several state legal offices and other authorities. Commercial tenants include Deloitte, QBE and Landcom.

The suburb is a commercial precinct attracting more than 90,000 workers each day, and the council argues the proposed development restrictions could act as a handbrake on investment in it.

“We’re concerned about the impact [the report] is going to have on jobs and investment in the city," Mr Chedid said.

While the guidelines are not law, they will, in some cases, guide federal government decisions that override those of the local council.

The requests placed on V by Crown, located within 500 metres of the historic site, represent the first time principles in the report have been used.

NSW Planning Minister
­Brad Hazzard
refused to give his ­opinion of the decision but said it would “produce better outcomes if the federal government worked with the state government . . ."

Parramatta councillors will meet with federal Environment Minister
Tony Burke
in the next week to raise their concerns.

The event comes at the same time the minister is considering the fate of another culturally significant structure, the hammerhead crane, on Sydney’s Garden Island Naval Base.

The crane has been redundant since 1996.

The navy has lobbied to remove it to make way for docking ­facilities. However, it faces resistance from the National Trust and heritage groups.

One of just 17 left in the world, maintenance costs for the disused relic amount to about $770,000 annually. Removal is estimated to cost $7 million.